Houston, TX, July 9, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Dr. Peter R. Vail, Professor Emeritus of Rice University's Department of Earth Sciences and president of a highly-respected, self-named oil and gas consulting and investing company, has been recognized by Cambridge Who's Who for demonstrating dedication, leadership and excellence in stratigraphy and seismic interpretation.

Dr. Peter R. Vail is a leading geology and earth science researcher whose work revolutionized the oil trade. His expertise is in stratigraphic geology and seismic interpretation. He worked as a research geologist and then as a senior research scientist for Exxon from the 1950s until 1986. It was early in his career when Dr. Vail made discoveries that shook the oil industry to its very core. While oil companies studied seismic reflections to define regional stratigraphic and structural subsurface correlations, they misinterpreted variations within composition results. Dr. Vail explained that these differences pinpointed geological histories or timelines. His explanations forced a tremendous change to existing business models as well as the academic world. These concepts are now accepted far and wide.

Dr. Vail's citations indicate the significance of his research:

Hollis D. Hedbers Award, Energy Institute for the Study Earth and Man, Southern Methodist University (2005)Benjamin Franklin Medal for Earth Science (2005)
Legendary Geoscientist Award, American Geological Institute (2004)
Penrose Medal, The Geological Society of America, Inc. (2003)
Sidney Powers Memorial Medal, American Association of Petroleum Geologists (2003)
Distinguished Educator Award, American Association of Petroleum Geologists (1999)
T. Neville George Medal, Geological Society of Glasgow (1995)
Northwestern Alumni Merit Award (1994)
Honorary Medal, University of Burgundy, France (1993)
Geological Society of France Award, European Union of Geosciences Meeting, Strasbourg, France (1993)
Twinhofel Award, Society for Sedimentary Geology (1992)
Honorary Degree, Ghent University, Belgium (1989)
William Smith Medal, Geological Society of London (1986)
Distinguished Achievement Award for Individuals, Offshore Technology Conference (1983)
Best Paper Award, Houston Geological Society (1983)
Matson Award, Author of Best Paper, Annual American Association of Petroleum Geologists Convention (1981)
President's Award, Best Published Paper, American Association of Petroleum Geologists (1977)
Virgil Kauffman Gold Medal, Advancement of the Science of Geophysical Exploration Society of Exploration Geophysicists, Annual Meeting (1976)
Bausch & Lomb Science Award, Deerfield Academy, Deerfield, MA (1948)

Dr. Vail earned his Ph.D. and Master of Science in Geology from Northwestern University and his Bachelor of Arts in Geology from Dartmouth College. He is a professional public speaker and renowned author.

About Cambridge Who's Who
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